Empathy Presentation at the UC Berkeley Class:
Nonviolence Today
Class
Title: PACS
164B. Spring 2010 -
Nonviolence Today
An introduction to the science of nonviolence, mainly as seen through the life
and work of Mahatma Gandhi. Historical overview of nonviolence East and the West
up to the American Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr., with
emphasis on the ideal of principled nonviolence and the reality of mixed or
strategic nonviolence in practice, especially as applied to problems of social
justice and defense.
Instructor:
Americ
Azevedo - Philosopher-at-Large Dates: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Time: 3:30
to 5:00 Location: Wheeler Hall, Room 213 Presentation Date: March 16, 2010
Carol Wolfley and I gave presentations at this class. On March 9, Carol talked
about Nonviolent Communication and on March 16, I explored the experience of
empathy. Here's my outline.
What's the relationship to nonviolence?
Showed a short video with Martin Luther King, Obama,
Robert Kennedy, Jeff Sessions, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, etc., talking about
nonviolence, compassion and/or empathy.
A very short group discussion on the relationship
of empathy to nonviolence.
Story Telling: What's your personal experience?
Showed a video of Gloria Steinem talking about the
importance of story telling and empathy, as well as, Barack Obama telling a
personal
story about learning a lesson about empathy.
Share a personal story about experiencing
empathy:
Gloria Steinem, Barack Obama (3 min)
In groups of 3, each person told a personal story of
experiencing empathy or it's lack.
Each person could share their story with the entire
class.
Drawing: What's your personal metaphor?
Showed a video of various people talking about their
metaphor of empathy.
In groups of 3, each person came up with a personal
metaphor of empathy and drew it.
Each person could share their metaphor and drawing
with the entire class.
A Metaphor of Empathy? The common definitions of empathy are the metaphors
of
standing in someone else's shoes or looking through someone else's eyes.
I asked the question:
What is your personal metaphor for empathy?
(see drawings and videos below)
Empathy is like:
Empathy is like a cornucopia. For me, each person
is a cornucopia of rich; experiences, thoughts, insights, emotions and
feelings. With empathy, I can experience, share, reflect and learn those qualities. In a
Culture of Empathy, we all share each others cornucopia and wonderful
bounty of the spirit. Without empathy, life would be impoverished.
Edwin Rutsch
Infinity b/c
empathy, continuous act which must be reciprocated. I also used the wave idea because
empty is fluid and has a strong but subtitle energy.
Alex Tickner
Empathy is
feeling someone's tears on your shoulders, even when they aren't there.
Amani Jadallah
Empathy is like a distributed network. A global
network that fans out all over the world.
Americ Azevedo
Shared experience - shared hike
Anne Fleshman
Empathy is the
core of the earth from which life sprouts
Brijean Murphy
Roots support each other
Byron Chan
Empathic Swarms
Swarms of empathic affinity groups
emerging from individual conscious choices
a swirling matrix of multifocal wisdom
with interactional aliveness, mutual consideration and shared caring.
Carol Wolfley
Empathy is music
Dacia Allen
Looking
in the mirror
David Aptaker
When I think of empathy I have taught of a tree
with deep branches and love growing from the tree.
Diana Alonzo
Other flower, human root
Grace Jorgan
Empathy Story +
Energy through contact
Harjot Dhaliwal
Hanger
Ino Chang
Electro magnetic radiation - light
Jacob Rex
A hunter not being able to shoot a moose because
he knows the animal's pain if he does shoot.
Jason Heath
Empathy is like dancing... it
involves presence, thoughtful action and love of the experience
Kate Delap
Footprints in the sand
Kathy Quimpo
Touch/contact/love/dance open to the world
Kaya Allan Sugerman
Tandem sky diving
Masamichi Fukui
A dirty mirror
Meaghan Clifford
Empathy is eating
some else's favorite foods, mmmm!
Nico Alegria
Empathy Story +
Energy entraining with nature, beings and life
is empathy
Revati McNamara
Many hearts beat to the rhythm of one great
beat.
Ryan Cole
Empathy Story +
This paper (it is flexible, like your mind when
understanding others.)
Ryan Leuang
Lifeblood of empathy
Shannon Troutman
Empathy is the relationship between a plant's
roots and leaves
Talison Hammond
Empathy Story +
Sirius start system balance out of chaos
Tyrone Botelho
See myself reflected in your eyes
Wendy Fiala
Vine grasping roots of the tree - roots of the other persons situation their
soul - entity
Wenting Tsai
Wind -
wind goes through everything and even though you can't see it you know it's
there.
Yvette Cabrerd
Need to link names to drawings Alyse Kennedy
Amanda Howell
Jacob Hagelberg
Justin Witz
Kathleen Learry
Nathan Lui
Nicole Rodrigues
Michael Singh
Tetsaya Sellers
Empathy
Story
name?
Sunshine on my skin. Empathy: something
you can't see but can feel
name?
Horse and human moving together
name?
Post modern empathy
name?
Watching figures in clouds
name?
Empathy house. Welcome. Nickey girl, we are family
name?
Puzzle:
empathy is fitting into other people's grooves and thus becoming more whole
name?
An eye for both mother's tears
name?
Lack of empathy: Barren, dry self-contained few
connections devoid of much activity or life
